Where it began
by Razorheart31
Summary: Time has flown by, now one by one the original digidestined's crests seem to be losing their power and pretty soon they are lost to their own demons. Only two of them refuse to give up on their friends. Light and Hope must once more shine through the darkness, they have to... Takari, sorato, taimi and kenlei. T just in case. Updated for clarity chap 1-5.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don' own Digimon nor any of the associated characters, places, or events. This story as far as I know is in no way a plagiarism of another story. Should some part of the story resemble another piece it was completely unintentional.

It had been... A long time. So long he couldn't remember what his friends looked like. But that didn't mean he had stopped talking to them. They had long conversations everyday in the phone everyday. He actually found it kind of hard to keep up with 11 people talking at the same time. But he knew that he wouldn't change them for the world.

_Specially her_... Once again he started to think about all of the times he had spent with his best friend when they were young. He remembered laughing all the time with her. He remember her sweet smile that made him feel happy and strong. He remembered her strawberry perfume that always baffled his mind when she hugged him. He wasn't quite sure when he had fallen for her, maybe it was on that fateful Christmas so many years ago. It would have been a normal day like he expected, wake up, get breakfast, go out with his friends, come home, have lunch, get ready, go to the party, have fun, leave, go to sleep, and wake up the next day. It was supposed to be like that expect for one minor, and happy, mishap. He almost had to leave but his friends were trying to get him to stay, except Davis because he had fallen asleep on the couch. He had succeeded in breaking free of most of them but there was one that still latched on to him.

"Come on, Keru. Stay!" Takeru Takaishi. One of the original Digidestined and the bearer of the Crest of Hope. He was fairly tall for his age and had a well built physique thanks to his basketball training. He had golden hair and light blue eyes that always seemed to express joy. You could never be sad around him, somehow he always managed to make people smile. For this his friends cared for him deeply. And that is the reason why the young girl was still trying to get him to stay.

"Sorry Kari, it's late and my mom will have my head if I'm not there by midnight." Kari Kamiya. Another one of the Digidestined and Takeru's childhood friend. She was a petite girl with fair skin. She had silky brown hair that reached just over her shoulders. Her eyes were a reddish brown that always held concern for anyone. She usually was very polite and calm and was very gentle to her friends. But right now she was behaving like a spoiled child looking for her teddy bear. Takeru couldn't say that he didn't enjoy the attention but he did have to leave. He had started to walk towards the door, but since she was holding on to his arm she was being dragged as well. When he reached the exit her turned around, grabbed her hands that were hugging him and held them on his own.

"Kari, you know I will se you again tomorrow right?" She looked down and swayed her foot around.

"I know, but we are having so much fun!" She looked up at him and had a small pout which he found incredibly cute.

"I know and I don't want to go either, but you know how it is with my mom." She sighed and nodded slowly. She then let go of his hands and embrace him. He was a little shocked but he returned the gesture. They let go of each other after a couple of minutes.

"Bye T.K., se you tomorrow." She said. He had opened the door but he turned back and smiled at her, the kind of smile that made her mind go numb and made her legs feel like feeble jelly.

"Bye Kar." When he was about to leave he herd someone call out to him.

"Hold on there lover boy, you forgot something!" When he turned around he saw all of his friend, save for Davis who was still snoring on the couch, with huge grins on their faces. Kari had a curious look on her face and turned to look at Sora who had just spoken.

"What do you mean 'forgot something'?" Sora only lifted her hand and pointed towards the ceiling over the door. TK and Kari followed her finger and found quite a surprise, hanging just above their heads lay a small branch. When they spotted it both TK and Kari's faces got really red. It was unmistakeably Mistletoe. When they lowered their gaze their eyes met and their blush deepened. TK gulped and looked at his friends who were still grinning widely. He motioned for them to turn around. Suspiciously enough they did as he said. When he was sure they weren't looking TK nervously walked up to Kari. He stopped right in front of her and stared into her eyer.

"Merry Christmas, Kari." He gently leaned forward and kissed her. It was an innocent and sweet kiss. But for both of them it was pure bliss. Until.. CLICK! The loud clicker sound of a camera reached their ears, the separated immediately and realized what had just happened. Sora was holding the camera in her hands and had a devious smile.

"Shit!" They both said. It had been a fun day, but that was long ago. He was now 19 years old and was attending college. He had been admitted to a university in London where he studied to become a writer. He was in between all of his friends. Mimi had gone back to the US and studied gastronomy. Joe had moved to Switzerland to further advance his already vast medical knowledge. Sora had moved to France to study design. Matt had tagged along with her since his band was taking a break from all of the gigs they had had. Izzi and Tai had remained in Japan and continued on to college as well, but they both have moved to other cities. Kari being the kind person she was didn't have the heart to leave her family behind so she studied in Odaiba. Davis had gone to travel the world and gain some fame as a football player. Ken and Miyako had gone to Germany since Miyako wanted to travel around Europe. Cody was a senior in High School at Odaiaba. Even if most of them had gone very, very, far TK still hoped that they all met again in the future. Not like their reunions in the Digiworld, he wanted to see his friends in his world and truly see how their lives had gone. How her life was. He still held on to his feelings, no matter how silly it may seem he still hoped. Who could blame him, after all he was born with it.

Anyways,time had gone by so fast for TK. And it was once more winter break, last year he had far too much work to go back to visit his family and friends, but this year he was free to go. He had already packed everything he needed and was checking to see if there was anything he missed. When he patter around his neck he realized he was missing something, He started to frantically search for whatever he was missing and apparently he found it, lying on top of his night stand. He picked it up and looked at it. It was a small golden locked with the shape of a heart, and when it opened it revealed a picture of TK and Kari in their trip to New York so many years ago. Her face was pressed up against his and they were both smiling. He ran his finger through the picture and smiled himself. He closed it and put it on around his neck.

_I hope you haven't forgotten about me. _He grabbed his suitcase and left his appartement.

Kari was running around the mall with a bunch of bags with her and a long list. She started to look around while talking to herself.

"Eggnog, eggnog, eggnog, eggnog." She was looking all over until she saw one store in particular. "Eggnog!" She quickly ran towards the store while trying to cross out something from her list. But it seemed she didn't pay enough attention to where she walked and bumped into someone else. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I- Yolei?" The girl in question turned to look at her with a puzzled expression.

"Yes, do I know you? Wait a minute... Kari?!" They started squealing while they jumped around and hugged. Suddenly Ken appeared behind Miyako.

"Ken!" Kari let go of Miyako and gave a friendly hug to Ken.

"Hey, Kari." Ken wasn't much for displays of affection so the hug was brief. When she let go she started to question them.

"How have you guys been? How was your trip? When did you get back? Did you already propose Ken?" She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize that some of her bags were still on the floor. Ken noticed this and picked them up. When Kari saw what he was doing she stopped talking and got a little embarrassed. "Thanks, Ken! I forgot that there are still some things I need to get. Would you mind tagging along? I want to hear more about your travels!" They both nodded and followed Kari around while she looked for everything on her list. They told her about how they had visited most parts of Europe. How Ken had decided to become a policeman. How he had indeed proposed to het in Paris, cliche maybe but she had loved it. Eventually Yolei got tired of talking about herself.

"What about you Kar, anyone special yet?" This question made her visibly nervous and she blushed.

"I've had some relationships but, nothing serious yet." She tried to end the discussion there, but Yolei was far from over.

"Still thinking about a certain someone?"

"Huh?" Kari was shocked at her question, but deep down she knew she was right. Some times she daydreamed of what it would be like to see him again.

"Don't worry I'm sure TK feels the same way 'bout you too!" Without realizing it Kari got a little depressed when she answered.

"I doubt it..."

"What was that?" Kari realized what she just said and waved her hands in front of her nervously.

"I said hum.. Banana split, yes, let's go for some ice cream." She started to sprint towards the food parlor without letting any of her two friends go further on with that topic. When she reached the food parlor she heard a small ring tone and pulled out her phone but saw that it was inactive. Then Yolei and Ken walked up to her.

"I think it is the other one." Said Ken while pointing towards her purse. When she pulled what was making the sound out she saw it was he digivice. She had gotten a message. When she opened it she smiled brightly and immediately started writing her response. Miyako smiled knowingly.

"We can all guess who wrote the message." And she was right.

Hey Kar!

I just wanted to let you know that I just landed in Odaiba airport. I'm gonna crash at Matt's place since he has a spare room. You better make some spare time for your best friend. Otherwise I might look for a replacement. Hahahaha! ;). Anyways, see you later I guess.

Love, TK

Kari had a huge smile on her face and started to walk while writing her response, she was so lost in her answer that she did not realize she had left Ken and Yolei behind.

"That girl! So love-struck yet she won't admit it." Ken came up behind her and hugged her.

"Eventually it will happen, just give it time."

"Well it better happen quick!" Ken gave her a puzzled look.

"And why is that?" Miyako had a sheepish grin and laughed nervously.

"I made a bet with Mimi, five hundred US dollars that they will kiss before New Year's Eve." Ken sighed and grabbed her hand.

"Come on, let's get her back on track." The couple quickly caught up with Kari who had walked all the way to the exit without realizing it.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon nor any of the associated characters, places, or events. This story as far as I know is in no way a plagiarism of another story. Should some part of the story resemble another piece it was completely unintentional.

Matt had seen TK a couple more times than the other digidestined. Aside from the fact that he was his brother he was fairly close to England. Their reunions were always friendly, nothing too fancy. But now that they were both back at their childhood home, his perception changed. Nostalgia hit him like a moving train and he started to reflect on his life. The only thing he had accomplished on his life was sing. He wanted to do something more with his life. Tai had just started studying External Relations and planned to join the UN. He had been quite shocked because everyone expected him to play soccer, even more when he said why.

_As much as I would love to, playing soccer will not help anyone. I've spent half of my life helping others, and I'm not going to stop now. _This got Mat thinking. He wasn't very useful when it came to politics or speeches. In fact the good memories he had in the Digiworld involved him and his friends traveling to new places. With given time this thought developed into the idea of becoming an astronaut, going places that few people could ever dream of visiting. Everyone was happy for him when he told them about his dream, but of course there was one thing he didn't mention. Part of the training program would include moving to the US for quite a long time. He didn't want to leave them behind, but it was the only way... right?

For now he was happy that the original group was once again reunited, and with their Christmas reunion coming up he would enjoy as much as he could. After hall, he _was_ the original bearer of the Crest of Friendship. He chuckled at this thought, for it seemed that the only thing he messed up was precisely that. His eyes traveled all around the room he was in, the photos of his friends around the walls only made his decision harder. Eventually the stress was just too much, so he picked up his keys and his wallet and let the apartment, TK would be terribly affected by jet lag so he wouldn't wake up for another couple of hours. Or so he thought, just when he closed the door the door to TK's room opened wide. The young man stood there with one eye open and his hair in a golden mess. He rubbed his eyes and looked around for his brother.

"Matt! You here bro?" No answer. He walked out of his room and was about to go into Matt's room when something caught his eye. A letter, sitting on the desk for all to see. _He must have forgotten to put it back, _he thought. He was about to walk past it when he read the last sentence.

TRAINING PROGRAM ESTIMATED DURATION: 36-48 months

Takeru picked up the paper and read all of it. When he finished he ws speechless, on one hand his brother would get the opportunity of a life time. On the other he would be gone for a long time, perhaps for too long. He decided that Matt would eventually talk to him about it so he left the letter where he found it. Seeing that he ws now far too excited to sleep he decided to get dressed and visit his friends. He got into the shower and then picked his clothes, he had stopped wearing hats long ago so his outfit was just a pair of jeans, a button-up shirt, a simple winter coat, and some vans. He took his D-3 and left the apartment.

Odaiba wasn't among the most beautiful cities in the world, but it still had its charms. And for her right now it couldn't be more perfect. A thin and soft layer of snow blanketed her surroundings. She found it so beautiful and relaxing. Even if the occasional gust of wind threatened to freeze her nose. She put on her fluffy coat and hat and ran out like a little kid.

"Bye Tai, I'm going to the park!" Before his brother could answer she had already left. He just smiled faintly and returned to his business. Having a chance to visit his family was a very rare occasion indeed. Even more if he stayed with them on his own initiative. It seemed that this time he felt the need to relieve his old memories of him and his friends. College sure took a toll on him and most nights he had to give up sleep just to keep up with his work. In all honesty he now doubted that he could achieve his goal of becoming a delegate. No matter how much time he spent studying it was not enough. As time passed he was so caught up in his studies that he started to loose contact with his friends. Sometimes weeks would pass before he answered their messages. All of those sacrifices were starting to take their toll on him. His once confident stare was now tired and broken most of the time. His laid back attitude grew dreary with every passing day. He was the leader of the Digidestined. He had fought through hell. He had been the one to keep his team together through thick and thin. He had been the supporting beam for them, but now... he felt scared. _How stupid_, he thought, _I am supposed to be the bravest, and here I am sitting like a scared kitten._ Of course being the headstrong person he is he tried day and night to not show that he was afraid. But it seemed that his strength was starting to run out and he would often catch himself trembling. It was only a matter of time before the others caught on as well. For now he would have to fake a smile.

The snow made a soft crunching sound as she walked through the streets. Winter had always been her favorite, but now the snow wasn't the only thing in her mind. Her thoughts drifted back to a day similar to this one, in which she gave her first kiss to her best friend. It began with a stupid tradition, but she felt so much more. Her face began to blush a little as she began to recall the events. She shook her head and decided to clear her mind walking through the ponds. Even with the beautiful scenery in front of her, her mind still went back to the cerulean eyes that had captured her heart. She was so lost in her thoughts that she did not hear someone calling out to her until she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Earth to crazy cat lady!" She was snapped back into reality and immediately smiled. There was only one person who called her that.

"TK!" She threw her arms around his neck and snuggled against his chest. The force made TK loose his balance and he stumbled back, landing on his back. He started laughing and Kari soon joined him.

"You've gotten heavy." He said. He had always enjoyed messing with her. And having known her for years gave him plenty of available jokes. She softly punched him in the arm and chuckled.

"And you've gotten more annoying!" TK laughed again while he stood up. He offered his hand to Kari, but when she took it she felt a jolt of electricity that ran up her arm all the way to her head, where it smacked made her legs go numb like jelly. She fell down again and heard TK's concerned voice.

"KARI! Are you okay?" When she turned to look at him, her heart skipped a beat. His eyes, his cerulean eyes that could light up any rainy day, were now broken with worry. She felt guilty, and frankly confused. She knew that she had missed him, but why wouldn;t she. He was... Is her best friend. Nothing more. But no matter how many times she repeated that in her head, she was starting to think it wasn't true.

"Yes TK, I just... Huh... Tripped." His expression immediately changed and he once again gave her one of his signature smiles while he arched one of his eyebrows.

"It seems that you are also clumsy." He helped her up and she smacked his arm.

"Jerk." She immediately started laughing. No matter what happened, she could never stay mad at anyone. _Specially him._

"It's been so long Kar, how have you been? His words snapped her back to reality, not like her thoughts varied much from the person that was standing right in front of her.

"Yeah, it's been quite some time. But you know, it's been good. I have been working on some soup kitchens. Volunteering to read for little kids. Helping out at the animal shelter."

"Good ol' Kari, still thinking of others before herself." It was not so much as a critique towards her lifestyle, but more like a concern. "I guess it can't be helped," he said while grabbing the small pendant that hung on her neck, "you were born with it." The pendant was the Crest of Light. And no doubt it was given to the right person. She could never act with selfishness. No matter how bad things got, how much she was hurting, she always thought on the wellbeing of others before her own. She had a special way of making everyone feel important by only smiling. That, was only one of the reasons why he loved her.

"And what have you been up to?"

"Apart from college. I also volunteered to work with little kids, but I taught them how to play basketball. I also traveled quite a lot around Europe. I met some great people. Here, I took some pictures." He walked up to a bench and sat down, he took out his phone and started showing her several pictures of himself with many different people. But one picture stood out from the others. He was kneeling beside a young boy in a hospital bed, he had several tubes going attached through his wrist and a breathing aid on his nose. The hair that was supposed to be on his head was gone. It looked like he wasn't in a very good state. But still, both him and Takeru were holding out three fingers each. And they were both smiling.

"TK, who is this?" When he looked at the picture with more detail his expression softened.

"This is Jacques. He is a friend I made in France. I had been feeling bad for some days so I went to the hospital to get a checkup and that's when I met him. He was crying saying that it hurt going to the doctor. His mother was begging him to behave, but he kept on crying. You know he wasn't doing it out of stubbornness." He turned to look at her. "He was afraid. So I walked up to him and talked to him a little bit. Eventually he agreed to continue his therapy, but on one condition. I had to be there with him every single time. I had a schedule to keep with my travels, so I did what anyone would have done." Kari smiled at him and finished his sentence.

"You stayed with him." He softly nodded his head.

"I showed up everyday, 1 o'clock, and stayed with him for as long as it took. Eventually his mother told me that the doctors said there was no point in continuing the therapy. He had less than two months left. Also his mother was running out of money, she had already spent it all with his treatment of the last 6 months. They told me it was hopeless. You know what I did?" Once again Kari smiled, already knowing what he was going to say.

"I took out my wallet, I got my credit card, shoved it in the doctor's hand and said 'there is no such thing as hopeless'. I admit the next weeks were rough, his condition was worsening, but I wasn't going to leave him alone, I showed up every day and told Jacques, his mothers, even some doctors, that everything was going to be okay. This picture, was taken three months after he was given only two. Unfortunately I had to leave, my money ran out as well and it seemed that Jacques didn't need me anymore. When I told him I had to leave he started crying. It broke my heart but I promised him I would see him again. His mother also started crying and thanking me for what I did, I gave them my email so they could contact me no matter where I went. Look, this picture was sent the day I started traveling to come here." TK opened up a picture of a smiling James, but he was different. Small stubbs of hair could be seen growing, and his face had regained some of the lost color. Kari had to wipe a few tears of her eyes after he was done telling the story.

"It was only natural of you to do that," she picked up the amulet that was dangling on his chest and flipped it over, revealing it was the Crest of Hope, " you were born for it." She let go of the amulet and once again embraced him, but this time she didn't let go.

"I missed you TK" She said. He returned the gesture and nuzzled his head on her hair..

"I missed you too, Kari." The snow was still falling, the wind was still blowing, but they kept each other warm. Sadly, things wouldn't stay like that for long.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don' own Digimon nor any of the associated characters, places, or events. This story as far as I know is in no way a plagiarism of another story. Should some part of the story resemble another piece it was completely unintentional.

Christmas break was around again, but you know what, it just wasn't the same. The whole group had decided to meet up in Japan, even Mimi showed up all the way from America. In the beginning everything felt nice, but of course, something had to go wrong. Since the day was still young the group decided to visit the Digiworld and do some exploration. But their destination of choice made TK feel uneasy.

They had decided to climb up Infinity Mountain after the new generation of Digidestined, apart from TK, wanted to see it.

"Come on, it looks AWESOME!" Davis said. He had been insisting that they climb up the mountain for days now. For the first time everyone dismissed the idea, saying that it was far to dangerous. But one by one, he started convincing them to support his childish wish. Even the older group admitted that it wasn't such a bad idea. TK seemed to be the only one that still didn't want to go.

"You go ahead guys... I'll wait for you at home." His voice sounded depressed and his gaze fell to the ground.

"Come on TK it won't be the same without you!" Sora said. He gave her a weak smile but it disappeared as fast as it came.

"Sorry Sora, I just don't fell like it."

"Is something wrong TK?" Kari asked. "Are you feeling alright?" She put a supporting hand on his shoulder.

"Yes Kari, I'm alright." She lowered her hand from his shoulder and grabbed his hand.

"Come on. I'm... _We_ are here for you. If you don't feel comfortable just say it." She smiled at him. It was the smile that could light up the darkest of his days. So naturally, he agreed.

"KARI! How come you hold hands with TC and not me?" Davis whined. Everyone laughed at him, but it also didn't go unnoticed that their hands were still locked together. Kari started walking towards the mountain, and she was dragging TK along with her. They talked between themselves in the walk, but it was mostly quiet. Only their digimon seemed to be having a blast. They were chasing each other and laughing all around the road. Patamon seemed to notice that something wasn't right with his partner, so he stopped playing and flew towards TK. He hovered above his head, and then he let himself fall.

"Very funny, Patamon." TK laughed with Patamon for a while. He picked him up from his head and started tossing him in the air like he was a small child. But when he saw what was behind Patamon, he froze in place. There, standing high above the clouds, was Infinity Mountain. The place where so many years ago, he was reminded that he was WEAK.

"Are you okay, TK?" When he turned to look at Patamon the memories came flooding back. How he could only look as his best friend gave up his life to save them. To save him. It seems like the others didn't notice that he had stayed behind. Only when Gatomon ran up to Kari and tugged on her shirt she looked back. TK was standing still, with Patamon in his hands. His expression showed shock but he seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

"TK? We don't have to climb the mountain if you don't want to." Her voice snapped him out of his trance. He met her gaze and found that her eyes held pure concern. It broke his heart to be the one to be the cause of all this, but he was truly affected.

"What's the matter TJ? You are not scared are you?" Davis teased.

"Davis!" He turned back to see who had yelled at him. It was Tai. His face was stern and he slowly shook his head.

"What?" Tai was about to reprimand him once again, but TK spoke up.

"It's all right, Tai. He has the right to now... They all do." He had been with them for several years, with Kari even more, but his generation still didn't know about the incident. TK led them to a nearby clearing and sat down. Everyone sat around him and remained quiet, waiting for him to speak.

"A long time ago, on the first visit we had to the Digiworld, we had to face an evil digimon known as Devimon. He was the first truly strong enemy we faced. Our digimon could already reach the champion leve, well most of them could, so we were confident we would beat himo. But, it didn't go so smoothly. One by one he started to take out or digimon, Patamon still couldn't digivolve and Devimon was coming for me. When he was about to attack me my digivice started glowing. Finally, Patamon evolved into Angemon. He protected me from Devimon and started to fight him. But he knew that he alone couldn't win, so he absorbed the energy from the other digimon. He combined it with with his own and released all of it with one final attack. Devimon was defeated but Angemon had used all of his power, and he was gone as well. In his place stood a small digiegg, and all I could do was cry. I wasn't strong enough to help my friend. I just... Just." TK couldn't talk anymore, as the tears started to fall from his eyes and his voice started to break. Kari hugged him and gently rubbed his back. Matt finished the story.

"It was right there in Infinity Mountain. It was in that very place where Angemon gave his life to save him. TK had a really rough time recovering after that, he kept telling himself that he needed to become stronger." Everyone stayed quiet for a really long time, the only sounds were TK's silent sobs and Kari's soothing words. Then Davis stood up, dusted himself off and started to walk away from Infinity Mountain.

"Where are you going?" Said Yolei.

"Home, TK is in no condition to climb the mountain. And you know what we once agreed on." He turned around, and smiled at his friends. "No matter where we are headed, we either go together or we don't go at all." He might be a little reckless and hard headed some times. But he was a much better person than people gave him credit for. Everyone nodded at his remark and got to their feet.

"Why don't we go back and start working on the preparation for our Christmas party?" Yolei asked excited. Most of them agreed with her but some turned down the offer.

"Sorry guys but I have kendo practice today, I also need to finish my english thesis. Next time I'll join you though." Said Cody as he and Armadillomon excited the Digiworld.

"I also have to finish some papers for college. Sorry guys, but i-if you need something. Don't be afraid to ask, as long as you don't call in the middle of the night." Joe said sheepishly as he also left the Digiworld, but this time he took Gomamon along with him. Izzy also left with his own excuse, the rest agreed to help with the preparations.

"Great!" She said, she turned to look at Kari and TK, he was starting to calm down. "Take as much time as you need, we'll be waiting for you at home." One by one they started leaving. When it was Tai's turn he turned to look at TK.

"If you do anything to my sister, you and I will have a nice long _chat_." He to him with a small grin, before going through the portal with Aguman on tow.

"See you at home teeks." Matt was the last of his friends before only he and Kari remained in the Digiworld.

"Once again, I ruined things for everyone. Why do I have to be so damn weak!" He jumped to his feet and started to pace around in frustration.

"It's not your fault, what you lived through was something no person should ever feel." She tried to calm him down but he distanced himself from her.

"It IS my fault if I had been strong all those years ago, this wouldn't have happened." This time she grabbed his shoulder firmly and turned him around to face her.

"Stop beating yourself over it! You are the strongest person I know. What happened had nothing to do with you being weak. So please stop it. It pains me to see you like that." Kari lowered her face but TK gently grabbed her chin and lifted her face. He stared into her eyes and slowly they both started to close the distance between they were about to kiss a loud buzzing startled them. It was their D-3's . They both laughed awkwardly and read the message.

_I am sorry to interrupt children, but there is something you must see. _

_Please come see me at once. For now it will be only you two._

_Gennai._

_P.S. You may resume your activities after we are done._

They both blushed when reading the last sentence.

"Well huh. I guess we have to go and see Gennai." TK said.

"Y-yeah, lets go." They started to walk, and when they were out of sight Patamon popped out of a nearby bush.

"They're gone." When he said that Gatomon climbed down a tree.

"Shoot, and they were so close." She said. "Oh well, we might as well go with them. Come on Patamon!" The two digimon started to run to catch up with their partners.

"Sir, it seems that the old man has found out about you." A shadowy looking digimon was kneeling down to a much larger one.

"Nevermind that, we have more important matters to deal with. That they know about my plan will only make it all the much funner. It is time to start."

"Yes, master." The smaller digimon scurried off into the darkness, leaving his master alone.

"Those pesky digidestined. They have been such a nuisance! I have to take them out one by one. Starting with them. Light and Hope... You are mine!"

Guys, I am asking for help. As some of you might have guessed all of the elder digidestined are starting to loose the spirit of their crests. I have something planned for most of them. But I need help with Mimi and Joe. If any of you have ideas I'll be glad to hear them. So please don't leave me hanging.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don' own Digimon nor any of the associated characters, places, or events. This story as far as I know is in no way a plagiarism of another story. Should some part of the story resemble another piece it was completely unintentional.

Special thanks to **jgmail** for me some ideas to continue the story on Mimi and Joe.

"Why haven't they returned yet?" Tai asked for the millionth time. It had been well over half an hour since they left the Digiworld and TK and Kari still hadn't come back. Everyone but Tai and Matt had gone home, they were still waiting for their younger siblings.

"Relax Tai, if something _were_ wrong they would tell us. They have their D-Terminals. Plus Patamon and Gatomon are with them." Matt said while putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I know that, I still am worried though." Then his own D-Terminal started buzzing. He frantically pulled it out and read through the message.

"What's it say Tai?" Matt asked his friend.

"Matt contact the others. Tell them to meet me at my Kari's apartment. When those two come out bring them home immediately." Tai said with a serious voice, one he hadn't used in years.

"What, why? Is something wrong?" Tai started to walk out but he stopped to look at Matt.

"Honestly? I'm not sure." Having said that he left Matt alone to wait. He stared into the digiport and wondered what did the message say.

Kari and Tai were walking back towards the digiport after having already met with Gennai.

FLASHBACK

The digidestined of Light and Hope, with their respective partners, had already reached the shore when the water separated, and there at the bottom of the ocean appeared the small house that belonged to their friend and adviser, Gennai. When they had reached the bottom of the stairs Gennai opened the door to greet them.

"Finally you are here, come on in." He walked back inside with the others following him. After entering TK was the first to speak.

"Soooo, why did you call us, Gennai?" He looked at him waiting for an answer, he was hoping it was not bad news.

"I am afraid children, that your troubles have yet to disappear." He said to them staring out his window.

"What do you mean? Is Daemon back?" Kari asked with concern. Gennai shook his head slowly. She let out a sigh and relaxed a little.

"I think, that facing Daemon would be a lot better."This shocked both of the digidestined and their digimon.

"WHAT?" They said in unison.

"You see, Daemon was one of the Seven Great Demon Lords of the Digiworld. They are beings of pure evil that have no other goal than to enslave the whole world. They have tremendous power and control massive armies. They are already Mega level digimon, but there seems to be a way that they can evolve together to form something much more terrifying." He pulled out an old book that contained many unrecognizable writing and ancient pictures, when he flipped to a certain page he started reading it to them.

"This is Ogudomon." The picture showed a giant spider like being. It was black and purple with red spikes and claws all over it. He had a small teethed head on top but a much larger one in what should have been its belly. It has several eyes around it and a giant row of sharp teeth. All around it seemed like trouble. "Legend has it he was one of the beings that came before all others. It is the materialization of the darkness within the soul. With his destruction each of his legs became one of the Demon Lords."

"So this means he is seven times more powerful that Daemon?" Gatomon asked in disbelief.

"I have no idea. There are no existing records or witnesses that could clarify his strength. But there is one thing."

"What is it?" Patamon asked.

"An old legend, mostly gibberish save for the last part. Here I'll read it to you."

_He who came before all others _

_Shall rise again to consume the world_

_The sharpest sword won't cut _

_And the strongest shield wont hold_

_Nothing shall survive his rise_

_It shall be the end of time_

"I pulled it out of some old stories, it might not be completely true, but we should be prepared."

"Why do you think Ogudomon may come back now? Why not before?" Kari asked, she was getting nervous so TK put a comforting arm over her shoulder.

"It seems that Daemon, is dead." Everyone in the room was at a loss of words.

"D-dead? The strongest digimon we've ever faced is dead! HOW?" TK asked.

"In the dark ocean resides a powerful being known as GranDracmon. Apparently he was the overlord in that dimension. When you banished Daemon there he started to rile up followers of his own. GranDracmon was furious so he fought him, and in the end Daemon was defeated."

"B-but when a digimon dies he becomes data and is revived again, so we can just go get his digiegg and raise him good!" Patamon said hopeful, but once again Gennai shook his head.

"As you might have seen there are powerful digimon that have the power to turn the data of fallen digimon into their own." Kari gasped and put her hands over her mouth.

"But- but that means." This time Gennai nodded.

"Yes child. It seems that there is someone out there who is now in possession of Daemon's power."

"God help us..." Was the only thing TK could say.

END FLASHBACK

Kari, TK, Patamon, and Gatomon approached the digigate, but none of them made an attempt to exit.

"TK?" Kari said softly. When he turned to look at her she was staring at the ground.

"Yes Kari?" When he said that she turned to look at him. Her eyes showed doubt and tears were threatening to come out. Her mouth softly moved to speak.

"What will we do? We barely managed to defeat Daemon before, how can we manage now? Its just- I mean I- I..." She didn't say anything more, she lowered her gaze. TK softly embraced her and gently stroked her hair.

"It'll be alright Kari. We've been through a lot of rough times, but as long as we are all together we will be fine." She looked up to stare into his eyes.

"Promise?" TK smiled at her question.

"Promise," he reluctantly let go of her and grabbed her hand. "Come on, everyone must be waiting for us."

As they exited the digiworld Matt tried to question them on what had happened with Tai, but they said they would tell him everything at home. The car ride was quiet and tense, but after what seemed like forever they arrived. TK got out of the car first and walked over to open Kari's door. She smiled at him and took his hand to get off. The three of them walked to the building and then up to the Kamiya's apartment. When they entered everyone was sitting on the living room quietly waiting. Tai was the first to notice their arrival.

"Kari, I read your message, what the hell is going on?" Kari looked at TK and kept her eyes on his for a while. She then sighed and turned to her friends.

"Well... Where to begin. I guess I should start at-" She was cut off by a loud laugh that came from outside. Then the door burst open and a giggling woman stepped in.

"Hey y'all. Sorry I'm late, you won't believe what happened. See, there was this reaaally cute guy and he-"

"Shut up Mimi. This is important." She scoffed at Davis for interrupting her.

"Chill out, all right." She walked towards Tai and sat on top of his legs.

"Mimi, what are you doing?" She giggled at his question and drapped her arms over his neck.

"Calm down, hot shot. Just live the moment." Tai firmly took her hands and lowered them. He then moved to the side so Mimi fell down on the cushion next to Tai. She crossed her arms and pouted.

"Okay now everyone is here. Now I guess we'll start the story on the beginning." TK and Kari told them all about their visit to Gennai and the story he told them. Excluding, of course, the part where he interrupted their kissing. When they were done Mimi was the first to react.

"Oh hell no! I am not going through that AGAIN!" She started yelling and covering her head with her hands. "I lost my childhood thanks to the digiworld, I am not loosing any more precious time of my life again." She stormed off, leaving the rest to wonder what was happening with her. When she was outside she started crying.

Mimi was always known to be a kind girl, who was humble in her own way. She had given it her best in the fight against Myotismon all those years ago and she was beyond happy when it was over. Of course she was also very sad that she had to move back to the US. She had grown quite attached to her friends in Japan. In the beginning she had tried to visit them whenever she could. Every break she had except for Christmas, she would go to Japan. In the beginning she was happy living like this. But as time passed her life became a blur to her. She was living between two worlds and it was starting to take its toll on her. After some time she started to get her sleep mixed up between the two timelines. She was getting more and more absorbed into her online conversations with her friends in Japan. Her friends in the US were at first very supportive of her behavior, but as time went on they started to get annoyed by it. She always did talk about what her friends told her, she would go on and on. Eventually they got tired of it so they devised a plan. Her "friends" slowly started to drag her into their stuff. They started by giving her small sips of spiked punch. Pretty soon they convinced her to drink the strong stuff. Then they got her into smoking, then clubbing, and in the blink of an eye she was the spitting image of them. But there was still the problem that she didn't want to face, they were trying to force her to sleep with someone for the sheer fun of it. It had been so long since her last conversation with Sora and the others that she was now afraid to talk to them. And since her "friends" at school gave her an ultimatum she had to choose quickly. She had to admit it was one of the worst experiences of her life. But it was better than being alone. She was scared that she would have no one left by her side so she followed suit with everything they told her. Eventually she acted like that for so long, that now she was sure that her new personality was the original. There were times where she doubted, but everyone seemed to like the new Mimi better. Everyone had convinced her to abandon her life in Japan. Everyone told her to forget about the digiworld. Everyone told her to renounce herself. Everyone...


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don' own Digimon nor any of the associated characters, places, or events. This story as far as I know is in no way a plagiarism of another story. Should some part of the story resemble another piece it was completely unintentional.

"What are we going to do?" Said Sora. "We have no idea when or where this Ogudomon will appear. I don't think we have ever heard of such a digimon before."

"Okay guys, I know this sounds bad but we need to keep calm."

"Yeah, Davis is right." Said Kari. "I know that I had some doubts at first but TK reminded me of something." She quickly peeked at him and found that he was looking straight at her, which made her blush. "We are all a team. And as long as we stick together, there is no way we can loose." This seem to cheer up the group a little.

"Ok, now we need a plan." Tai said.

"Then plan ahead, oh great leader." Said Matt jokingly. Tai showed him the finger. "Okay guys. I know it's been a very long time since we have done stuff like this. We aren't exactly the team we used to be, but we have to put all that aside. There are people and digimon who need us." Outside Mimi had stopped crying, but instead of returning or leaving, she got closer to the door to hear what Tai was saying. "I will not force you to give up your vacations. If you want, you can go, I won't stop you nor hold any grudge against you." He stood quiet and waited for anyone to stand up and leave, but no one did. Tai smiled at this and cleared his throat to speak again.

"Ok, we have always tackled problems together so that is how we are goint to act. Izzy, you and Ken need to investigate as much as you can about the Dark Ocean and the Demon Lords, anything you find will be useful." The two nodded and dashed of to Izzy's computer that was plugged in in the studio room.

"Matt, you and Sora need to go around the Digiworld and try to find out anything about this Darcdramon and Ogudomon." The two smiled at each other and then nodded. Before they went through the digiport Tai spoke up. "Matt! I hate being a buzz-kill, but I need you guys to stay focused, if you get my meaning." Sora blushed and rushed in. Matt mockingly saluted Tai and then followed Sora.

"Joe, since you have the most rigorous schedule I only ask that you keep on calling our families and telling them why we need to run off everyday. Be creative." Joe smiled and then nodded.

"Cody, Davis, and Yolei. The Digiworld is a pretty big place so I need you to help Matt and Sora. Cody, prevent them from killing each other." Yolei faked looking hurt but nevertheless they all agreed and also disappeared into the Digiworld.

"Kari and TK. I need you to go to Myotismon's old hideout and read through his books, see if you can find anything." They nodded, but before they could go Kari stopped to talk to her brother.

"What will you be doing Tai?" He smiled at his sister and went to grab his keys and wallet.

"I will go around and look for other digidestined, I need to see if anyone else has seen or heard something related to this Ogudomon." When he opened the door Mimi was standing there.

"I'm going with you." Tai looked a little annoyed, remembering what had happened.

"No." He tried to go around her but she stood firm. "No!" She crossed her arms and looked him straight in the eyes. They stood like that, looking at each other, until Tai sighed. "Fine," he said and she immediately smiled, "but I need you to stay focused."

"Fair enough." She nodded and they were off.

"I wonder what's going on with Mimi, she seems different." Said Kari.

"I'm sure that whatever it is she can handle it on her own. I mean, she would ask for help if she couldn't, right?" TK said. Kari nodded and followed him through the digiport.

Tai had been driving around all afternoon with Mimi. They had talked to several people but they had yet to receive any relevant information. The rides were mostly quiet until Mimi decided to chat.

"So, Tai, I heard you are studying External Relations. That's pretty cool huh?" Tai smiled for a minute until he remembered all of the troubles he had been having. He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost missed a red light.

"WATCH OUT!" Mimi screamed. Tai reacted just in time to slam the brakes and stop just before a truck sped by right in front of them. They were both panting and still pretty much in shock.

"I think you need a break. Come on, let's go get a coffee." Tai looked at her puzzled. He remembered that she had despised coffee as a kid. He could picture her liking it now. But he still agreed with her and drove to the nearest cafe he could find. When they got it he ordered a chocolate frappuccino, and Mimi got a caramel latte. When they got their orders they sat in the nearest booth and drank in silence. Tai thought Mimi was back to her old self until.

"So, do you work out?" He had to admit that he was surprised to hear that question.

"Pardon?" She leaned over the table and started to rub his chest.

"I think you do, anyone special to do it for?" She had asked and then bit her lip. Tai had started to blush so he removed her hand.

"Why are you acting like this?" She laughed.

"Oh, come on! Don't act like you aren't enjoying it." He jumped to his feet and threw away his cup.

"Come on, we have to keep moving.' Mimi was shocked. She hadn't been ignored since her change of attitude.

_Perhaps he needs a little more convincing, yeah that's it. The problem is not me. The problem is NOT me..._ She thought as she perked up and followed him out.

Matt and Sora were riding on Birdramon while she flew them around the Digiworld, stopping only to talk to some digimon." In the middle of flying Sora wrapped her arms around Matt's back and let out a contented sigh.

"I know this is supposed to be a really bad time but, it feels good." She nuzzled against him.

"Yeah..." Matt responded halfheartedly. Then he remembered about the travels he was supposed to make, and the little time he had left. "When this is all over how about we go somewhere? Perhaps the beach or we can go skiing."

"I don't know, I need to return to college." Sora pouted while talking.

"Fine, but promise me we'll spend some time after that." She smiled at him.

"Of course, after all, we have the rest of our lives." Matt felt his heart crumble when she said that. "Matt, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just thinking." Sora seemed to notice something was off about him.

"You sure? You know you can tell me anything." He smiled weakly at her.

"Yeah, everything's fine." He turned to the front and started thinking again. _How am I supposed to tell her..._

Izzy had been typing all afternoon. His fingers were bruised and his hands were tired, but the determined expression in his face made it clear that he was not stopping anytime soon.

"Damn it, still nothing!" He cursed while he hitting the table. He quickly regretted it as pain shot up from his hand. Ken saw this and slowly closed his laptop. "What are you doing!" Izzy exclaimed with a certain amount of anger.

"You need to rest. Look at your hands." Izzy lowered his gaze and fond that he was telling the truth. His once small fingers were now red and swollen. Several blisters were present and some had already burst. But instead of agreeing he shook his head.

"Nevermind that, we have to know who is this new digimon. They are all counting on us." Izzy tried to open his laptop but Ken moved it away from him.

"We've been at it for only one day. You don't expect us to find something that quickly did you?" Izzy tried again to reach his computer.

"I am the only one who can solve this." Ken put the computer out of his reach and stared at him.

"We are a TEAM. Don't try to do this all on your own." Izzy sat down and rubbed his hands in pain. "Go get some bandages on that. I'll take over for now." Ken opened up the laptop an started to type faster than Izzy. Looking at how he was working Izzy reluctantly exited the room and looked for the first aid kit. He cleaned his wounds and applied some bandages before he returned. When he did Ken was frantically typing while murmuring to himself.

"What are you doing Ken?" Izzy asked. Ken answered quickly and without looking at him.

"I found some weird intrusion in the Dark Ocean. For now it's just a long line of code, but maybe I can decipher it." Izzy looked with disbelief at the monitor screen.

"Want some help?" He asked but Ken shook his head.

"It's alright I got it." Izzy lowered his gaze and went outside to clear his head.

In all of his years as a digidestined he has never been out-brained by someone else. He was always the one who solved the complicated riddles. Whenever something went wrong he was the one to come up with a solution. He had worked hard to be so smart, and then it suddenly seems that it is not enough. Ken has no idea how he feels, he didn't have to work for his skills, and Izzy worked the hardest, because it was all he had. He knew he is not physically gifted like Tai. He is not as good looking as Matt. He doesn't have TK's social personality. His brain is all that he has left. And there is no way that a lucky "genius" will take that away from him. He had stayed up till the early morning several times studying. He had given up weekends and holidays to school. He has given up too much, to come in second place.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don' own Digimon nor any of the associated characters, places, or events. This story as far as I know is in no way a plagiarism of another story. Should some part of the story resemble another piece it was completely unintentional.

Kari and TK had been walking around Myotismon's lair for several hours now. It had taken them a long time to find the library. The halls were long and tall. Spiderwebs gave it a more ominous look than what it already had. The walls were broken and the tapestry was all torn to pieces. The ambiance was not very enjoyable, but they knew that for now they would have to ignore that. They had a mission to accomplish. One by one they started to look through the countless books stored within the large shelves all round them. They had been in complete silence, the only noises that could be heard were echoes of miscellaneous noises that traveled through the hallways.

"TK?" Kari said lowering the book that she had been reading.

"Yeah?" He answered without taking his eyes off of his book.

"You know, winter break doesn't last forever, we have only ten days more before we have to go back to our lives." TK felt curious about where she was going with this, he looked at her and closed his book.

"What do you mean, Kari?" She bit her lip and stared up at the ceiling.

"It's just that... I don't know. It's been several years since the last time we were all together. I missed our reunions, but you know, now that it happened, it's not the same. Everyone is so stressed out with what's been happening, I don't feel like we are friends anymore, just a bunch of people who happened to know each other's names." She looked at the ground with a sad expression drawn in her face. He sighed and walked over to her. He knelt down and put his hand over hers.

"Hey, don't worry. What we went through in the Digiworld, all the adventures we had, all of the problems we faced, we did it all that as a team. We became the best of friends, and a bond like that can't be so easily broken, can it?" She looked up and gave him a smile, small but filled with emotion. He smiled back at her and ruffled her hair. She slapped his hand and laughed. TK sat back down and silence filled the room once more.

Joe was reading over some of his books and notes. Unlike the other Digidestined his college major was much tougher, or so he liked to think. He would spend endless hours reading the same page over and over to make sure he wouldn't forget any of it during a test. Even when they were kids Joe was always worried about everything, and how couldn't he. Everyone seemed to have absolutely no regards towards safety. He always had to be the responsible one, he would often reject going to a lake or the beach for fear of drowning or a big shark. He had to admit, he was a little relieved when everyone had gone off to college. It was not that he didn't enjoy their company, it was just that whenever they were all together he was filled up with a lot more responsibilities than usual. And now here he was, once again helping his friends solve some overly complicated, not to mention extremely dangerous, mysterious problem that he had nothing to do with in the first place. It was getting tiresome, having to call so many people when he had to do so much work, his life was hard enough without the Digiworld.

"Yes Ms. Kamiya, Kari is with Tai. No, nothing like that, they just went to the park with Matt and TK. Yes they said they will be back before supper. Okay, bye!" He let out a sigh and dropped to the ground against the wall. That had been the 10th call he had made that day. And he still had to finish his research paper that was due _next week_. "Awww man! At this rate I will have to spend an extra 40 minutes a day researching, just to get back on track." He groaned and walked back to his desk, he let himself fall onto the chair and picked up a book. He opened it up to the first page and began to read, but just after reading the first sentence.

RIIING RIIIING (Phone sounds)

"Ahhh son of a-" He marched to the phone with heavy steps and picked it up. "Yeah?"

"Joe. It's Tai, come over to Matt's, quickly." Joe sighed and looked over to his desk, on it lay a big pile of unfinished papers.

"Is it really that important?"

"Yes!" He heard Tai say as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Joe let out a loud and tired sigh before he answered.

"I'll be right over." He slammed the phone back. He dragged himself towards the door and slowly opened the door. Before stepping out he looked back at his desk with frustration. "I hope they know how much I am sacrificing for them." Then he closed the door and made his way towards the Ishida residence.

Back in the apartment everyone was huddled around Ken and Izzy while Ken was explaining them what the extensive code on the screen meant. After about 20 min there was a nervous knock on the door.

"Coming!" Said Matt. He walked to the door and opened it. Joe was standing there with an irritated expression on his face. He had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot. "Hey Joe!" Matt said with a friendly smile.

"Yeah, yeah... Hello to you too." He said with indifference while walking past him. Both walked to the living room in silence. Matt went to Sora and put his arm around her so she rest her head on his shoulder.

"Okay, now that everyone is here please, tell us what you found." Tai said, Ken and Izzy nodded and turned to face the others.

"Now, where to begin." Said Ken. "You know that originally Gennai said that some mysterious digimon had stolen Daemon's data after his death, right?" Some of them nodded while the others stood still. "Well we investigated the ratios of energy and code that different level digimon have. Since the actual amounts are far too complicated to discuss right now we will use _digi-joules_ as units." Davis scoffed.

"Digi-joules? What kind of a name is that?" He said mockingly.

"Doesn't matter," shot back Izzy, "focus! Now a rookie level digimon, like Agumon or Gatomon, has only 1 digi-joule of both energy and code. When said digimon digivolves into champion level, its power levels increase exponentially."

"How much?" Cody asked. Ken and Izzy looked at each other and whispered some inaudible things.

"We estimate that it is increased about 10 times. So when a digimon evolves its power is multiplied by 10, and when it de-evolves its power is cut by a factor of 10." Davis's face lit up and he lifted his hand like a small child.

"So then Ex-Veemon has 10 digi-joules, while demiveemon only has 0.1 digi-joules." He said... Screamed, quite proudly..

"Very good Davis! Here's your gold star, now sit down and shut it!" Miyako said, first sweetly but then changing her tone to one of anger. Davis cringed and then slowly sat down with a childish pout in his face.

"Anyways, if we follow this logic. Daemon, being a Mega level digimon, would have had around 1000 digi-joules of code and energy stored within him!" Everyone looked at Ken with puzzle expressions.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Asked Mimi. Ken sighed and pulled out a piece of paper, where he began to draw little cups.

"Let me put it this way." He drew a small Daemon with a huge bucket and a small Agumon with a cup. "Now tell me, what would happen if Agumon here tried to absorb ALL of Daemon's power."

"Well, it seems that he would overflow." Said TK.

"Exactly! Now based on this we can assume that only Mega level digimon could have absorbed Daemon's data, right?" Izzy said. There were some murmurs that sounded like 'yes'.

"Listen guys, I appreciate that you went to the trouble of finding all this, but I still don't see how it would be much help. There are still hundreds of Mega level digimon around the Digiworld, and I doubt we would be able to get so close to them without major trouble." Tai answered, still not quite understanding.

"Well, yes but there is still one more thing." Ken looked at Izzy, they both seemed nervous about something.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Sora asked intrigued.

"You see, Daemon's data needed to be taken directly from his dying body. And to track down to find who took it we need to go back to where he was killed." Kari turned pale when Izzy said that, she was staring at him with her eyes wide open and teardrops were starting to form in her eyes.

"We have to go to the dark ocean."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don' own Digimon nor any of the associated characters, places, or events. This story as far as I know is in no way a plagiarism of another story. Should some part of the story resemble another piece it was completely unintentional.

Kari hadn't said anything since Izzy mentioned the journey they were going to have to make. It had been almost 8 years since she had been dragged to that world by those dark and repulsive creatures she had once thought tobe Scubamon. It had been one of the worst experiences of her life, and had it not been for TK she would have never made it out. She had had nightmares for several days after that, sometimes Tai had to go to her room and be with her until she fell asleep. It had taken her a lot of time to get over it, and now she was being forced to go through it again.

"NO!" She yelled as she jumped off her seat. Everyone stared at her, some with compassion and some with shock.

"Kari, you have to understand. The problem is not opening a portal _in_to the Dark Ocean, it's getting _out_ that's the problem. Angewomon is the only digimon we have that can help us open a portal out. We need you to come."Izzy said. But she frantically shook her head and a few tears started to show up.

"I can't, I can't go back!" She screamed as she ran off into the first open door she found. She quickly closed it, without even turning on the lights. She locked it and slumped on the door. She closed her eyes and hoped that it was all a dream. The memories started to rush back to her head. How she had suddenly appeared in a cold and lifeless beach, without knowing how, or _if_, she was getting out of there. Then those slimy, weird, ominous creatures that had tried to kidnap her. She opened her eyes, and she saw _them_. They were reaching out to her, she could feel their cold hands all over her, she tried to fight them off but it was no use.

"Gatomon, help!" She screamed, the creatures were surrounding her and it seemed that every-time there were more of them. "Tai! Gatomon! TK!" She suddenly felt the ground shake. Not quite like an earthquake, more like the beat of a large drum. Suddenly the creatures in front of her slowly vanished, and she could feel how the world around her slowly disappeared with them. Her eyes burst open, the lights were still off, and what she had perceived as loud drums were actually knocks on the door. She stood up and wiped her tears away with her sleeve. She turned on the light and then proceeded to unlock the door. On the other side stood TK, with Chinese takeout on his hand.

"Hey..." She said weakly. He responded with a soft, but caring, smile. She opened the door wider to let him in. When he entered he chuckled at her.

"Funny you chose this room." She was puzzled at his statement, but all doubt left her mind when she looked around. She had stormed off into the bathroom. "Look Kari, I know you are going through a lot, I get it, but... I am not eating in the bathroom." She softly laughed with him and looked down to the ground to hide her blush. He turned towards the door and offered her his hand. "Come on." She took his hand and walked out with him. When they reached the living room she was surprised to see that it was empty.

"Everyone's gone." Kari said. TK chuckled and nodded.

"Well, it _has_ been three hours." She gasped at his words as she sat down to eat.

"Was I really asleep for all that time?" Kari asked slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah, when you ran off I tried to catch up with you, but by the time I got to the door I guess you were already asleep. So I decided to go back with the others, we talked for another hour and then... Stuff happened. Anyways, everyone left and since it was time for dinner I decided to go get you something to eat." Kari had been listening to everything he said, but when she heard his pause she was intrigued.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Oh nothing important, don't worry." He said nonchalantly, but Kari could see the slight worry in his face.

"Don't lie to me TK." There it was again, the little tick in his expression that made it obvious to her that something was bothering him.

"No, really it's nothing. Come on, let's go get some ice-cream." He said cheerfully while walking to the door, keys jiggling in his hand. She sighed in defeat and decided to let it slide for now, she would get her answers eventually.

"_Kari!" TK ran after her, but found that she was already locked in one of the rooms. He frantically knocked on the door. "Kari, open up!" He dropped his hand and banged his forehead on the door. "Damn it!" He slowly made his way back, but before he even saw his 'friends' he already knew what was about to happen._

"_You could have been more subtle on the matter!" Davis was screaming at someone._

"_Well I'm sorry this is not a walk in the park! But if you haven't noticed we have a really big problem in our hands!" Izzy countered. When they came into view I saw that Davis had grabbed Izzy by the collar. The others were shouting and pointing at each other, it was unclear if they were trying to stop them, or putting the blame on someone else. Matt was screaming at no one in particular, his face showed irritation, anger. Sora was trying to calm everyone done, like always, but this was far too much. It was a mass of anger and shoving, this didn't look good._

"_STOP!" Everyone stood still, looking at who had shouted. Tai was standing in the middle of everyone, putting himself in between Davis and Izzy. "Enough! We all have gone through a lot, and there is still much more to do. But we won't go anywhere if we keep on fighting!" There was a lot of grunting and murmurs, but sure enough they stopped. Davis and Izzy sat down, far away from each other. _

"_We have to think this through. The last experience Kari had with the Dark Ocean was a very emotionally scarring one. We cannot go recklessly into this, or she could be greatly afflicted." Tai said as calmly as he could._

"_Exactly, you get my point!" Davis said while raising both his hands and his voice._

"_BUT! We also have to act quickly. We don't know how much time we have left. For all we know it could be too late already." Tai said. He was trying to remain neutral in the conflict, but it was very clear that even he was unsure of what to do. Izzy stood up and started to walk to the door._

"_Where are you going?" Asked Davis, once again he was starting to loose his temper._

"_Home. We are wasting out time here, and since I still have work to do I might as well go." He turned to leave._

"_Fine, GO! Leave, we never needed you in the first place." Izzy stopped, it was the first time Davis had said something like that about anyone. His hand trembled a little before he left for good. _

"_Davis! What the hell was that?" Tai's face showed a mix of disappointment, and anger._

"_What was I supposed to do? We are in a critical situation here, and he just chickens out!" Davis said defensively. He was expecting some people to take his side, but everyone was doubtful of what they thought. Davis shook his head and stormed out of the room. One by one, everyone slowly started to leave without saying anything, leaving Tai, Matt, and TK alone in the living room._

"_FUCK!" Screamed Tai in frustration while banging his fists on the nearest wall. They stood in silent for a long time, no one daring to say anything. Then Matt approached Tai and put a hand on his shoulder._

"_Come on Tai, it's been a long day. You need to relax." _

"_How can I? I don't know if you haven't been paying attention to everything that has happened in the last 12 hours, but it's not exactly the time to relax."_

"_Look, I know that you feel that we have to give it everything we got. But we aren't kids anymore, we have other things to worry about. What about university?" Something seemed to click in Tai's mind as he said that._

"_Nevermind that, this is more important." He ran off before they could say anything else. Matt sighed and walked to the door._

"_Where are you going?" TK asked him._

"_I'm going for a walk, I need to clear my head." _

"_I'll come with you."_

"_No. You need to stay here until Kari wakes up." Having said that he walked out, leaving TK alone with his thoughts._

"_What's happening to us?"_


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don' own Digimon nor any of the associated characters, places, or events. This story as far as I know is in no way a plagiarism of another story. Should some part of the story resemble another piece it was completely unintentional.

TK had hoped that after that incident at their last reunion things would eventually get better, and for a while it seemed like it. Everyone had calmed down the morning that followed. Davis even apologized to Izzy and the two were once again friends. Tai calmed down as well and together they all tried to figure out how to go to the black ocean. Of course, everyone but two people. Kari was trying to keep it together, to keep her sanity intact, and TK was right there with her. He would often find himself going over to her apartment in the middle of the night to help her sleep after a nightmare. Other days he would sit with her in the couch, reassuring her that she was not alone and that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. She had gotten over it years ago, but the sudden realization that she would have to return messed her up far too much. Not that the TK was upset, in fact most of the other digidestined saw that he was a little too happy spending all that time with her. Of course neither of the two people in question seemed to realize this. Anyways, it seemed that after a week Izzy and Ken had once again found something worth mentioning to the others. So Kari and TK were making their way to Ken's home in comfortable silence, only talking to make small comments on their surroundings. When they got to the building they took the elevator up. When they were inside TK turned to look at the girl that stood beside him. To anyone else she would have looked peaceful. A tender smile in her face and a slight sparkle in her eye. But he knew better.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly. She turned to look at him in a small state of shock. But then her expression softened and she let out a sigh.

"Sometimes I wish you didn't know me so well." She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before continuing to speak. "It's just the usual. I'm still not used to the idea of returning..." He took her hand into his own, and when she turned to look at him he smiled. She returned the gesture and turned to look at the door again. When the elevator doors opened they walked out, once again in silence. TK rang the doorbell and in less than a couple of seconds it opened to reveal a smiling Yolei.

"Hey guys! What's up!" She smiled brightly. It was actually kind of weird. The original generation of digidestined seemed to be off, but how come she was so cheerful?

"Hey Yolei." They both responded. She looked at them with a puzzled expression.

"Is something wrong?" She said with a worried face.

"No, everything's alright. Come on, let's go inside." When they walked back into the apartment they saw how Yolei cheerfully walked over to Ken and hugged him. TK and Kari walked over to the group and sat down.

"Okay," started Izzy, "let's go straight to the point. First off, we all know that the Dark Ocean is a mirror dimension that is inhabited by evil and twisted creatures." The mental images flooded Kari's mind and she started to shiver. TK put a comforting arm around her and she smiled at him. "And to actually go to that dimension you need to have some connection with their darkness." He made a brief pause and looked over at Ken and Kari. "Either you have a substantial amount of dark power blooming within you. Or the dimension's inhabitants summon you directly into their world."

"The latter option is off limits since we know that by now everyone there must hate us to the core." Cody said. Ken cleared his throat to get the attention of the group.

"The dark spores that had been implanted within me allowed me to enter the dark ocean by creating a large portal. I analyzed my D-3 and it seems that the code sequence for opening that portal may still be available for me." He said while holding out his digivice. "But, I am not so keen on evil right now, gathering up all the energy to open the portal would take much more energy than before."

"But, you opened one to banish Daemon. Didn't you?" Davis asked.

"Yes, but that was a very confusing time for me. All of the things I did as the Digimon Emperor haunted my mind, sometimes they still do..." And then she saw it. Kari could have sworn there was a small black aura starting to form around Ken.

"I told you already, what you did as the Digimon Emperor is in the past. You are no longer that person. Stop beating yourself over it." When Yolei rested her head on his shoulder the darkness dissipated. She was trying to figure out what she had just seen when she heard her name.

"Kari, hey Kari." She snapped back into reality and saw TK looking at her. "What are you looking at?"

"Oh nothing." She said, she turned around and tried to clear her head of that weird dark aura. But she could feel something was not quite right.

"So we talked to Gennai about this and he said that there might be a way to gather enough dark energy to activate the portal to the Dark Ocean." He pulled out from his pocket a handful of dark purple crystals. "You know how our crests use the energy from our spirit to power up our digimon? Well these are made from the same material, but they are designed in such a way that they not only gather exclusively dark energy, but they are also able to store it."

"That's very nice but, how are we supposed to find the dark energy?" Davis asked.

"Much like the energy we use for digivolving dark energy is generated through emotions." Izzy was about to continue speaking but Ken interrupted him.

"You have to either find someone with dark emotions or produce them yourself. Things like depression, envy, wrath, loneliness, vanity, all kinds of stuff like that."

"Fair enough." Tai said as he picked up one of the stones. When he touched it a bright purple light was emitted from the stone, and when it subsided the stone had a constant glimmer of a dark violet color.

"Holy shit!" Davis yelled. Izzy rushed to the stone and examined it.

"It's... It's completely full. How in the world?" He looked at Tai in disbelief. "Tai, everything all right with you?" The room had fallen in a deep and uncomfortable silence. Tai could feel everyone's eyes burning through him. He was feeling his pulse speed up and tried to think of how to explain it.

"Y-yeah. I guess I was just stressed with all the college stuff." He said nervously. Kari saw once again how subtle black clouds started to seep out from him.

"All that much energy from just stress?" Matt asked, half mockingly, but some tinge of concern could be detected. "Man, you need to get laid." Immediately Mimi perked up and walked over to him.

"Perhaps I can help?" She asked while rubbing his shoulders. He shook her off and walked to the door.

"I filled my quota, I'll be going home now." He opened the door and slammed it shut.

"Something seems off about him. I wonder if something is wrong." Davis said, half suspicious half oblivious. The dark aura hadn't dissipated, but when she turned around.

"_You have no idea_." Large black clouds were spread across the room, coming from each and every member of the original group.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don' own Digimon nor any of the associated characters, places, or events. This story as far as I know is in no way a plagiarism of another story. Should some part of the story resemble another piece it was completely unintentional.

Nothing more had been mentioned about Tai's strange interaction with the dark crystals. Everyone had just dropped the matter, be it out of respect for their afflicted leader, or something more. Even if the newer generation had significant trouble filling up their own gems, the original digidestined had found that theirs were filled as soon as one of their fingers grazed them, all save for Sora.

She was feeling very happy with herself. She had a great boyfriend, an awesome group of friends, her grades were something to be proud of, and her designs had just started to get noticed by some very interesting and influential people. And she could feel that something more was coming. She had been with Matt for well over 7 years, they had been together through thick and thin, and their 8th anniversary was coming up. All of her friends were saying that he was going to pop the big question very soon, she always dismissed the comments as mere jokes, but deep down she hoped they were right. She had always dreamed of having a big wedding, with all of her friends and family. She dreamed of Matt kissing her at the altar and then carrying her off towards the sunset. Very cliche perhaps, but it was what she wanted. She had to push those thoughts aside, since Matt had come to pick her up and she didn't want to make a fool of herself by accidentally blabbering about her dream wedding. Anyways she walked out of their house and saw Matt on his black bike. He was looking down at the ground, and he seemed to be mumbling something to himself.

"Hey Matt!" Sora said cheerfully. He seemed a little shocked to hear her voice, and not in the good way.

"Hey..." He answered weakly. She looked at him with concern.

"Everything all right?" He gave her a weak smile and nodded.

"Yeah, just tired I guess. Come on let's go. Our reservation is in 10 minutes." She would have pushed the matter, but it seemed that for now it would be pointless. She got on the bike and held on to him tightly, but he seemed indifferent towards this. She was going to dismiss it when he almost missed a red light. Luckily she saw this and reached over to the brake.

"Shit! Matt what's going on?" She looked at him worriedly, but he avoided her gaze and started the bike again. It was a slow and painfully silent ride, when they arrived he walked to the restaurant without saying a word to her. Every step he took felt like a painful stab in the heart to her. She looked down at the ground, but after a few seconds she saw someone sanding in front of her.

"Sorry, I almost forgot the most important thing." Matt was standing there with an apologetic smile. He held his hand out for her.

_Maybe I was wrong. He could just be distracted._ She took his hand and they walked towards the restaurant together. The evening proceeded normally enough, compared to the bike ride everything was going pretty well, until.

'"Hey, Sora?" She looked back at Matt, his expression showed that he was extremely nervous. Her mind started to wander into the many possibilities of what could be bothering him. Unconsciously she found herself thinking about him proposing to her.

"Y-yes?" Matt shifted uncomfortably on his seat before speaking again.

"There is something important I have to tell you." He reached over the table and took her hands into his own. "We have been together for over 7 years. We have had amazing times together. I love you more than anything in the world. But now..."

_Is this it?_ She said to herself. Her heart started racing and she could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks.

"I think we have to break up." She had been high up in the clouds, but those last words sent her crashing down to earth.

"W-what?" She could feel the tears that were starting to form around her eyes. He noticed it too and swallowed hard.

"It's not you. It's... this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out some official looking papers. She quickly snatched them and read through them.

"What? What is this?" She looked at him with a broken expression. With every passing moment all of the pain she was feeling only got worse.

"It's not that I want to leave you, but I have to. It's the only way I can achieve my dream." He tried to say as calmly as possible. She could feel that now the tears were freely cascading down her face. She wiped the tears off her face and slowly walked away from him. But as she passed him she stopped to speak.

"I had lots of opportunities too, Matt. I could have been famous, rich." She turned to look at him. "But I gave it all up for you because I love you. I guess the feeling isn't mutual." With that she left Matt alone.

Why did this have to happen? Has she not been through enough pain already? It was finally the time for her to be happy. Then Matt had to come with this stupid idea of his. She was happy that he could finally make a living doing what he likes. But did he seriously have to leave her? They had a strong and special bond. A love she treasured with all her heart, but it seems she had been an idiot in doing so. It was so ironic, how she was the bearer of the Crest of Love. And yet it seems that it is the one thing in life that always seems to elude her. First, her mother, then her friends at school, and now her own boyfriend. You know what, fuck love...


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don' own Digimon nor any of the associated characters, places, or events. This story as far as I know is in no way a plagiarism of another story. Should some part of the story resemble another piece it was completely unintentional.

Tai was getting sick of Mimi, SICK. As if the stress that his life already had was not enough she decided to go ahead and rub on him like bread on butter. No matter where they were, coffee shop, car, elevator, out in the fucking street! She always tried to run her hands over some rather uncomfortable areas.

He had taken a liking to her in their second adventure in the Digiworld. When he was rejected by Sora she was the one who comforted him. He remembered when she went to his apartment in the middle of the night with his favorite pizza and comedy films. She would spend countless hours with him as he cried his eyes out with all the emotions that came with them. And it didn't stop at that. It's not like he could just hang out with them as if nothing had happened. He had held a deep resentment for them both, they had once been his best friends but now he saw them as backstabbers. They didn't talk to each other for several months until one day Mimi decided that enough was enough. Together with the other digidestined she locked the three of them in a small room and forced them to talk it out. In the beginning things weren't looking so good, but after a few good hits they started to really talk. By the time they got out they were once again friends, not so much like they used to be, but of course it had only been one day. Things were still awkward for a while, but in the end everyone was friends again and the gang was together once more.

And it all had been thanks to her.

So naturally, he eventually started to develop feelings for the girl. Since he had already been through a heartbreaking rejection he was very doubtful wether to tell her or not. And just when he had gathered the courage to confess she said that she had to move to America. Tai was once more heartbroken, and all of his plans went out the window. The day before her departure the only thing he could think of was to buy her a small teddy bear holding a soccer ball. It was a small plush toy with light brown fur and an innocent smile on his face. He felt terrible for giving her such a cheap-ass gift, but the intentions behind the actions are what count, right? Oddly enough she seemed very happy with the toy when he gave it to her at the airport. She made him a promise that until the day she came back the bear would never leave her side. In the beginning he expected her to hold on to that promise, but as she looked at her now.

"Oh shit I ripped my mom's dress! Taaaiiii, would you mind stopping at a mall to get a replacement?"

Yeah, it was evident that the bear was long gone.

I wonder when he will ask about the teddy bear he gave me so long ago. I would bring it up myself, but that would make me look childish and stupid. And I can't have anyone calling me that again, not anymore...

I have to admit that there were moments in which I really wanted to rip the thing apart. But there were two reasons I didn't. One: I had made a promise to keep the bear safe with me until I came back to Japan. Two: _He_ had given it to me. Countless nights I spent cuddling with that bear. It was kind of embarrassing actually. If the bear could talk he could be able to relate the whole story of my life to anyone. All of my secrets, my fears, my hopes. I told that bear all of my secrets, like a young and clueless toddler. I know it sounds childish, but I felt safe with the little toy with me. After some time my parents suggested that I throw away the "useless rag", but I just couldn't. But when my friends found out it was a different story, they started to tease me about it every chance they got. I really had no other choice, I didn't want to loose my friends. But when I did throw it away, I didn't feel relieved at all. In fact I felt like a piece of me had just been ripped right off. But there was nothing more I could do, the garbage truck had already taken it... A fuck it!

I ran, ran all the way to the next street where I knew the garbage truck would be. I started yelling "STOP!". I guess they heard me because eventually the truck did stop before taking a turn that would lead it out of my range. One of the men that clung to its sides asked me what I wanted. I told them about the bear, but they said to forget about it. Most likely it was in the middle of all the rubbish. Sooooo I did what anyone would do. The next thing I knew I was rummaging through large amounts of disgusting mysterious goo and squishy stuff like a desperate scavenger. It took me a while but eventually I did find it. Filthy, stank like shit, but it was pretty much intact. I couldn't go back home covered in garbage so I went instead to my grandma's house to shower and clean the bear. Anyways, over the next few years I have hidden it among winter coats and old boxes, even in college, I never left him behind. And now that I can finally keep my promise, it seems that he won't react like I wish he would.

"Hey, Tai?"

"What NOW?!"

"...Nevermind..."


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don' own Digimon nor any of the associated characters, places, or events. This story as far as I know is in no way a plagiarism of another story. Should some part of the story resemble another piece it was completely unintentional.

"For GOD'S SAKE! We have been doing this for the last week and yet NOTHING has come up! This is supposed to be our FREE time." Matt started yelling. "Why are we still wasting our time on this?" The entire group had decided to meet up in the park right in front of their old neighborhood. It was supposed to be a meeting to reflect on the findings of their last search, but once more they came up empty handed. Everyone was tired of doing the same thing every day and always come back with nothing, but it was Matt who spoke up first.

"You know very well why we are doing this!" Tai said, fury was drawn on his face, too much fury for such a small thing. "We are digidestined! We are the chosen kids to protect the world from evil." Matt walked up to him with just as much anger in his expression.

"THERE ARE FUCKING HUNDREDS OF THEM NOW! Open your goddamn eyes, WE don't have to do this, let it be someone else's problem. And also in case you haven't realized it yet. We are not kids anymore, Tai. We have our own lives to worry about."

"How can you be so fucking selfish! Gennai called for US, the first digidestined. We have more experience with this than anyone else in the world! Stop being a fucking idiot!" Shout turned to shove, shove turned to punch and pretty soon they started to savagely beat each other. The calm and sunny reunion suddenly turned into a mass of shouts, punches, and soon enough blood. Eventually they managed to separate them, but they were still in pretty bad shape. Tai wiped some blood off of his lip, and then he yanked his arms free from the other's grasp.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to the Dark Ocean. Izzy said that those crystals are already filled, so I'll go wether you come with me or not." Then, he turned away from his friends and he walked off. Everyone was too shocked to say or do anything. Matt was lying on the ground tending to his own wounds. Sora was just sitting on a bench, far away from who was supposed to be her boyfriend.

"Well he is right. Wether we like it or not we have to do something. So buck up Matt!" As expected, Davis was siding with his idol. Matt tried to pounce on him, but Joe and Izzy held him back. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Davis said with slight disgust in his voice.

"What's wrong with YOU? Why are acting like this, Davis?" Kari said.

"I'm not the one with the problem. We have a promise to uphold, we have to keep both worlds safe. Even if that means facing a few ugly fish." He said, mocking her own bad memory of the forsaken place.

"HEY! Watch it, Motomiya!" TK sad defensively..

"Or what?! What will the great TK do? Will you sacrifice Patamon again? Or would you rather fight for yourself this time?!"

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON WITH YOU?" Yolei said, the usual teasing tone of her voice completely gone. "This is not like you at all, Davis!"

"Shut up four eyes. This is a very serious thing and yet you all behave like little kids!" He stormed off like the time he discussed with Izzy. But unlike that time, Kari saw the large black cloud emanating from one of her friends, but this was the first time she saw it appear from one of her own generation.

"You saw it too didn't you?" She turned to look at the person beside her. Her best friend had a concerned look as he waited for his answer.

"Yes... What was that, TK?" He turned his gaze to the path that Davis had disappeared into and closed his eyes in deep thought.

"I wish I knew, Kari. I guess we'll have to ask Gennai next time we see him. For now let's just go home and relax." They were about to leave but heard someone calling them from their group.

"Are you seriously going to act like this is not fucking happening? That everything is fucking peachy when obviously every fucking moment that passes only makes it ten fucking times worse?!" It would have been funny to see the calm and mature Sora swearing that much, if it were not for the tears that were cascading freely down her eyes.

"Sora, calm down-" Kari tried to speak in the sweetest and most soothing voice she could muster. But it did the opposite of what she wanted.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?! How can I calm down? My whole world is breaking apart and all I can do is stare." Her voice started to break as more and more tears started to come out. Matt stood up from the ground and without saying a word he walked away, but TK could've sworn he saw a tear falling from his brother's face. When Sora saw this she immediately ran the other way, leaving everyone to wonder what had happened.

"I guess I'll see you guys later. Be prepared to go to the Dark Ocean tomorrow, we can't let Tai go alone, and knowing him he _will_ go." TK said. Kari was about to speak as well, but he pulled her along with him before she had time. "Don't worry Kari, I know for a fact that Angewomon is not the only digimon that can open up a portal back home from the Dark Ocean. If you don't want to come you don't have to." He said while smiling warmly at her.

"I can't let you go alone. I have to help." He put a gentle hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed it.

"You always help everyone no matter what their problem is. I think you deserve to be selfish just this once." He lowered his hand from her shoulders and grabbed her hand as he pulled her along with him. "Come on, let's go get some burgers. I'm starving." As she was being dragged through the streets she couldn't help but laugh at her friend's behaviour.

"Izzy. You said that Daemon was _a_ Great Demon Lord, not _the_ Great Demon Lord. Does this mean there are others?" When he said this Izzy let out a small scoff.

"I guess the great Ken Ichijouji isn't as perfect as he thinks he is. Yes, there are others. In total they are seven, and they each have their own realm of which they are undisputed rulers." Yolei was about to say something, most likely ask for an explanation on his rude response, but Ken spoke first.

"Could one of them be the digimon we are looking for?"

"Hold your horses. Even you must realize that we need to go back to the Dark Ocean to be able to analyze the energy remnants." After a small while everyone just drifted off into their own way. No goodbye hugs, no laughs, they just walked away.

"My lord. The children are getting ever closer to you. I fear that eventually they'll discover the truth."

"You fool. Can you not see that they are anything but close to finding the truth? They keep on fighting between themselves like dumb children. If anything they will make my life all the much easier. When the time comes, I shall crush them once and for all."


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don' own Digimon nor any of the associated characters, places, or events. This story as far as I know is in no way a plagiarism of another story. Should some part of the story resemble another piece it was completely unintentional.

Dark, lifeless sky. Cold, stone hard ground. Ominous and sinister whispers all around us that form a dark melody with the sounds of crashing waves. Chills ran down her spine as they walked through the colorless forest, no one saying anything. Tai was on the lead with Agumon beside him. Tai's expression was a crude mixture of anger and dauntlessness. while Agumon kept looking up worriedly at him. As for everyone else with them, their faces seemed to be rotating between fear, curiosity, and determination. For obvious reasons Matt and Sora were not accompanying them, and when he realized this Tai just brushed it aside with a scoff. Just like last time he felt betrayed, Tai was relieved to have them far away from him. On the other hand when Joe said he had to attend a family meeting Tai started shouting, he said that how could he abandon them when he bore the Crest of Reliability. Once again he was being far too aggressive.

Anyways, to aid in their search Izzy was carrying a small electronic notepad that he pointed around every direction, on the screen were several graphs that showed complicated series of waves that changed with his every movement.

"This area is completely empty, it seems Daemon was not killed here." Normally hearing a friend's voice would be comforting but now it felt like a stranger talking right next to your ear, and with such a grim choice of words the dark ambient just got worse. Tai stopped dead in his tracks, he briefly looked back towards Izzy with indifference before he resumed walking.

"We split up then, I'll go this way." Tai said coldly while slowly turning left.

"Hold on Tai, I'm coming with you!" Yelled a frantic Davis.

But Tai only took two steps towards a small dirt road when a hand grasped his shoulder to stop him.

"Hold on, Tai! What if we run into trouble, we should stick together. It will be safer that way." Yolei said. Tai shrugged her hand off and turned back, but this time his face showed frustration and fury.

"We have no time for being fucking chickens! We each have our digimon, and if you don't think that they can be of any help then maybe you shouldn't have come in the first place!" He responded brashly, Yolei looked deeply hurt and because of this Ken stepped forward, clearly pissed.

"You were the one who wanted us to come in the first place! And now here you are behaving like an old shithead? What is the matter with you?"

"Why do you care, Mr. Celebrity. Did I interrupt another interview, or perhaps you were going to meet up with a 'lucky' fan-girl?" Ken was now visibly furious, his hands curled into fists as he barked back at Tai.

"Now you are going TOO FAR, Kamiya. You either stop this bullshit attitude, or else?" Tai walked up to Ken and looked at him with a far too aggressive death stare.

"Or else what, Ichijouji?"

"Or else I might have to beat it out of you." They stood there glaring at each other for a couple of seconds, but before it could get any worse Izzy's notepad started beeping loudly.

"Finally! It seems that there is a faint trace of Daemon's data, and it continues this way!" This seemed to snap Tai out of his trance, because he just ran off in the direction Izzy mentioned, with Davis following close behind.

"What the hell just happened?" Asked a mildly annoyed Ken. "Five seconds ago he was ready to chew my head off, and now he just runs off like nothing happened!" He scoffed before grabbing Yolei's hand and stomping through the same path they took.

"Something's wrong, not only with Tai but also with Sora and my brother, even Davis seems to behave weird from time to time. And I have a feeling that it has something to do with this mysterious black cloud that floats around them." TK had a serious expression on his face as he looked towards the path that Tai had disappeared into.

"What are you talking about, TK?" Mimi was looking curiously at him with a sort of careless demeanor.

"Oh, it's nothing Mimi. You better hurry up though, we might loose sight of Tai." When she heard his name she immediately scurried off after the others, leaving an agitated Palmon to chase after her.

"Mimi! Wait up!"

"Nice save, but we eventually have to tell them about it." Kari said.

"I know but I think we should wait until we know what exactly it is that we are seeing. For now let's just get this out of the way. The sooner we get out of here the better, I don't like the look of this place." Soon enough they disappeared into the forest as well, unaware that someone, or more like something, was watching them from the shadows.

"Phase 1 is now underway. Master will be very much pleased with this!"

"Where the hell are you taking us, Izzy?"

"Just be patient, Tai. The signal is getting stronger so I'm sure we are very close." As they walked the path started to go downhill and the trees slowly started to disappear. Eventually the grassy ground turned into white, pristine sand. They were now standing in the middle of the beach in which Kari had been trapped all those years ago.

"We're here." Izzy said as he lowered his notepad and tucked it into one of his backpack's pockets.

"I don't see any Scubamon around, I suggest we get this over with before any of them get here." TK said with concern as he looked at Kari.

"Okay now, should we like, search for clues?" Mimi asked with a giggle.

"Izzy!" Tai yelled, making Izzy mutter something under his breath as he looked around.

"First of all we should find this GranDracmon. If he was the one to kill Daemon there is a very high chance that he was the one to absorb his data."

"Kari, TS! Did you see that guy last time you were here?" Davis asked. But they both just shook their heads.

"Sorry David. But we only met the Scubamon that were under his control. Perhaps you saw him, Ken?" Kari said while looking hopefully at the mentioned person, but again the question was met with a no.

"I don't remember seeing him any of the times I was here. I remember flying all around this island, but I never caught so much as a glimpse of that Digimon." He was about to say something else but Izzy cut him off.

"That can only mean one thing: GranDracmon doesn't live _on_ this island. He lives _under_ it, either in the sea or in a very deep cave. And seeing as the Scubamon are water-dwelling I am more inclined towards the first option."

"Cody! You have to go down there with Submarimon, if you see GranDracmon try to get him to resurface." Tai screamed at him. However Cody seemed doubtful of this plan.

"We should think this through, Tai. What if GranDracmon attacks me and Submarimon while we are underwater. We could get killed!"

"Don't wuss out on me now!" Tai spat through clenched teeth.

"Yeah Cody! You wanted us to treat you like a grown up, time to prove you are not a kid anymore. Man up!" Davis said while taking a stand right next to Tai.

"Guys, I don't think that will be necessary, look!"


End file.
